Format helps nonboaters

BARRIE,  Ontario-Several  nonboaters placing high in the Barrie Bassmasters’ 2008 Angler of the Year(AOY) race indicate that a tournament format change is working for the club.

In 2002, club members were unhappy with the club’s  ”draw for team” tournament  format , which gave AOY points during each tournament to both team members even if one of the team members never caught a fish. The tournament  committee decided to make a change but felt that awarding only individual results would not be fair to the nonboaters in the club.

Longtime club member Danny Taylor presented to the tournament committee “a way to make our club tournaments equal in all ways to the club members,” said Gerry Heels, club president. Taylor’s plan was to keep the team format with a blind draw for boat partners, but individual weight would be used to determine each partner’s AOY points. Then the weight of both team members’ catches would be combined to determine the cash award winners for each tournament.

Leon Maloney, tournament director, tweaked the proposal by dropping the fish limit from five bass to four and discussed the new format with the members. “Initially, a fair number of members opposed changing from a pure team concept, but when it was brought up again the following year, everyone seemed to be very happy with the system,” said Maloney.

Five of the Top 12 finishers in the 2008 AOY point standings were nonboaters, so the system seems to be working well, according to Heels.

“Since the introduction of this tournament setup, the club has flourished and has become the largest club in Ontario,” said Heels. I think the reason for this is a new member with no experience can join the club and know he still has a chance to maybe win some money and also be able to learn from a more experienced fisherman in the boat.

Copy of article in Feb 2009 BASS TIMES, by JOHN NEPORADNY JR.

Who'll run Fed. Nation? 12/23/2008 (Copy of article on BassFan Click here for more articles)

BASS confirmed today that BASS Federation Nation director Don Corkran will, in short time, no longer head the Federation Nation and will not be replaced. His contract, which is up next month, will not be renewed by BASS. Oversight of the Federation Nation will still reside with the BASS Events department.

A BASS official furnished the following statement to BassFan about Corkran's departure: "Don Corkran will be leaving his post as director of the BASS Federation Nation, as his contract expires Jan. 16, 2009. Everyone at BASS/ESPN Outdoors greatly appreciates and respects all his contributions and we wish him the best of luck. Over the past 2 years, Don displayed great leadership in managing the resources of the Federation Nation program and restored clear lines of communications between our grassroots members and BASS."

Concerning oversight of the Federation Nation from this point forward, the same BASS official said: "We're all operating in a challenging economic environment which sometimes dictates difficult steps to be taken. There are no additional changes planned for the rest of the Federation Nation department, which will continue to be managed by the BASS Events Department. We anticipate a seamless transition for all Federation Nation members."

Corkran had served for 12 years as Federation director until BASS's relocation to Celebration, Fla. in 2005. He was hired back by BASS in May 2007 after former Federation Nation director Gary Jones left the company.

Muskoka Wins Bid For 2009

Hank Gibson Qualifier

For the second time in three years Lake Muskoka was chosen as the site of the 2009 OBFN Hank Gibson Qualifier. The Muskoka Bassmaster's bid was very compelling with the support of the Town of Gravenhurst, a great launch and parking facility, perfect stage/weigh-in area with ample docking and of course the Muskoka clubs track record of hosting excellence with a flawless event just two years previous.

Other contending bids for the qualifier were from Huronia Bassmaster's for Georgian Bay and a joint bid from Dunville/ Niagara for Niagara/Erie. There was strong support for Georgian Bay going into the AGM but the vote came up short after Huronia president Terry Crawford  stated during his presentation that to date he couldn't guarantee a modification of the current regulations allowing for a five fish limit. A show of hands after the vote concluded that the reason the voting members didn't vote for Georgian Bay was in fact the 3 fish limit. Terry will continue his battle with the MNR next week.

Support for the Dunville/Niagara bid was also short even though the bid was very comprehensive with ample local support including the Mayor of Niagara. The lack of support could have been because of the lower than average entries the last time the qualifier was held there with only 68 entries but  members of the club feel Lake Erie scares many of the other clubs. One of the best fisheries in the country often gets ignored for fear that Erie will blow up and force everyone into the Niagra River even though the river itself is a great fishery without even heading for the lake.

Fort Gibson Lake:

What a different fishery this was. Not a hint of  weeds anywhere, and although we thought that brushpiles, old foundations, roadbeds etc would play a big part, that was not the case. Our team (Barrie #2) didn't understand just how good the fishery was. Most of the fish were caught shallow early in the morning and as soon as the sun got up, the bite died. The only boat that really figured them out was Aaron Anders and Don Wilson from Barrie #1 who used rattletraps bounced over the shallow rocks to get reaction bites. They weighed in the largest stringer of the Barrie Teams with over 14 lbs on the second day. Both Barrie teams would like to thank Dave Major and Major Clean of Barrie who detailed our boats and trucks before leaving. If you ever need a boat or truck detailed, this is the place to go for a great job. THANK YOU DAVE                                                       PHOTOS

                 Bass Club World Championship, Ft Gibson Lake, Oct 9/11,2008

   State                                              Lbs-Oz   

1 RIVER REGION BASS FRATERNITY 125-08

2 BRUSH COUNTY BASSMASTERS 117-01

3 ROLLING FORK BASS CLUB 112-03

4 EAST TEXAS BASS ASSOCIATION 110-05

5 TRI STATE BASS ANGLERS 109-10

6 BIG SANDY CREEK BASS CLUB 108-12

7 H.O.T. BASS ASSASSINS 104-03

The above teams fished 3 days, balance only 2.

8 ILLINOIS VALLEY BASSMASTERS 68-06

9 WEST ALABAMA BASS CLUB 67-14

10 ELITE ANGLERS OF IOWA 66-12

11 TIDEWATER BASS CLUB 63-14

12 BELGREEN BASS CLUB 62-15

13 MID COLUMBIA BASS 60-14

14 TIP TOP BASS CLUB 58-11

15 WAUPACA BASS CLUB 58-08

16 CUMBERLAND GAP BASS ANGLERS 58-05

17 EAST COBB BASS CLUB 58-02

18 HYDRILLA GNATS 57-04

19 ANGELO FEDERATION 55-10

20 BIRMINGHAM BASS CLUB 54-09

21 BURNING ISLAND BASSMASTERS 53-12

22 TRI COUNTY HAWG HUNTERS #1 50-00

23 CEDAR VALLEY BASSMASTERS 48-09

24 SALT CITY BASSMASTERS 48-01

25 CHAMPLAIN VALLEY BASSMASTERS 46-06

26 MUSKOKA BASSMASTERS 45-09

27 BARRIE BASSMASTERS #2 44-08

28 BARRIE BASSMASTERS #1 43-12

29 AMERICAN ANGLERS 40-00

30 ELKO BASS CLUB 34-03

31 DEL RIO BASSMASTERS 32-00

32 TRI COUNTY HAWG HUNTERS #2 29-13

33 SEARCHERS 28-12

34 DUNNVILLE BASSMASTERS 24-13